Roster Decisions and….Is Stan Bowman Looking for a Friend?

We all have our favorites, those we enjoy dealing with when at work. Dale Tallon was well liked in the NHL general manager fraternity. Tallon had many friends but he did seem to have some favorite trading partners. 

On the trade front Tallon appeared to enjoy dealing with the Flyers Paul Holmgren, Jim Rutherford of the Hurricanes, and the Bruins Peter Chiarelli. The Hawks always have  a ready eye on the Florida NHL teams as well. Former assistant general manager Rick Dudley and Scotty Bowman both have homes in Florida. A recent waiver claim, Radek Smolenak came from the Tampa Bay organization. 

As we approach Wednesday’s NHL roster deadline, Blackhawk management is facing some tough decisions. It will also be interesting to see who will emerge to be on Stan Bowman’s list of favorite trading partners. So far Bowman has made one trade transaction, providing a second round draft pick for the Leafs GM, Brian Burke. The deal was far more important to the Maple Leafs as they had to secure draft picks to set themselves up for the Phil Kessel acquisition. 

Will the wily veteran Burke and the youngest GM in the NHL Bowman, become frequent trade partners? 

Time will tell but the Leafs also have decisions to make soon, especially concerning their glut of defensemen.  The Leafs have three UFA’s defenders on their roster battling for the number six and seven blueline slots. Word out of Leaf Land is Ian White has secured the number five spot on the blueline, and big Garnet Exelby will be in the third pair…..Or will he still be there? The Leafs could use help up the middle as one of their weaknesses is at the center position. To frequent readers who are tired of my Exelby fixation, I will try to stop soon. 

Here is my take on the opening night roster for the Blackhawks. 

Goalies:

Huet, Niemi

Neither Crawford nor Niemi has looked bad but in the same regard neither has been a true standout. I still favor Niemi because his Blackhawk future needs to be decided before Crawford’s. 

Forwards:

Locks: Bolland, Brouwer, Byfuglien, Eager, Kane, Kopecky, Ladd, Madden, Sharp, Toews, Versteeg. 

Coach Quenneville has a lot of options concerning line partners for Toews and Kane. It could be Byfuglien or Brouwer; then again he may choose Sharp because that combo may provide the most offense. 

Other forwards most likely to survive: Dowell, Skille

It is possible 14 forwards will be kept because of the Versteeg and Byfuglien injuries, but that probably won’t be the case. If so Frasor would most likely stay up, regardless this group of grinders is tough to split. 

All of the young guys including Bickell, Brophey, Klinkhammer, and the new addition Smolenak appear to be capable fourth liners. Those boys could be rotated and shuffled from Rockford to Chicago when needed throughout the season. 

Defense: Barker, Campbell, Hjalmarsson, Johnson, Keith, Seabrook, Sopel

Jordan Hendry is the odd man out to start as he is on a two way contract, Johnson and Sopel are not. 

Somehow, I think the group of Hawk defenders will not stay the same for long. 

Maybe Stan and his new buddy Brian are chatting about that today. 

blackhawkswin@comcast.net